It is very light, and wondering whether it is implantation bleeding considering

Patient: I started bleeding yesterday, 4 days before my expected period. It is very light, and wondering whether it is implantation bleeding considering i had sex during, before and after my ovulation date. Is it too early to take a pregnancy test?

Symptoms: Cramps, light brown bleeding

Doctor: Hello,Thanks for the the query.An implantation bleeding can occur a week before or anytime nearing the expected c ycle date. It is generally pink in color with very minimal bleeding and hardly prolonged beyond a few hours. It is described as pink spotting that just stains an undergarment. Since you have had a positive history of intercourse during your fertile days or ovulatory period as well, there lies a good chance that this could be an implantation bleeding and we can associate this to be due to an early pregnancy.You can do a serum beta hcg test and repeat the same after 48 hours. An increasing or doubling trend in the values is indicative of an intrauterine pregnancy. Serum beta hCG test may be more specific than urine pregnancy test to detect an early pregnancy.Also, we need to rule out other causes of the bleeding with pain like early period, hormonal imbalance causing intermenstrual spotting, ectopic pregnancy or a premenstrual syndrome or even ovulatory mid cycle bleeding due to delayed ovulation.Kindly do the test and go ahead with your plans.Hope this helps.Feel free to contact us for further clarifications.Regards

Dr. Jimmy Obaji M.D.

Dr. Jimmy Obaji completed his residency in Family Medicine at the University of Manitoba. He currently operates a walk-in-clinic in downtown Toronto.